The Representative
by sarrrah.bear
Summary: What would happen if Peter Pan forgot Neverland? Peter lives in a school, miles away from any town. His life is normal, except for the fact that he daydreams, a lot. His life is changed when the school is attacked by unwanted visitors for far away.


What would happen is Peter Pan had forgotten Neverland.

* * *

I do not own Peter Pan... yet

* * *

" **Be Honest..."**

It was a relatively normal day. I had gotten up and dressed and left my room to go to school as usual. Everything was the same in the morning, going to classes, talking to friends, and eating lunch. After lunch, however was when things began to become, for lack of a better term for these events, strange. Everyone dispersed to our afternoon classes, which I tuned out most of the time. I often daydream about a magical place where I could just retire to in mid-day, but it always felt like I had physically been there before. Nothing was a surprise as I walked through the forest in my mind. I knew what was coming. Someone was calling my name. Calling and calling, trying to reach me. They were close…

"Peter!"

I snapped out of whatever trance I was in.

"Peter, please pay attention. The end of the year is coming up and you need to know this."

I looked around. My teacher and all my class were staring at me. I felt my face go red and I sank deeper into my chair. I peeked up at the whiteboard but there were just some words and diagrams I didn't understand. I always got lost in my world and I often didn't know for how long. It is the only thing I remember being a constant of my thirteen years of living. It's the only thing that's made sense. I tried my best to remain involved with the lesson for the next couple minutes until we had time to work, then, I figured, I could go back into my mind.

Halfway through the class, our principal called us all to a classroom for an all-school meeting. Our school went from the beginning of middle school, to the end of high school.

"As you all know, the end the year is coming up and stress levels are high."

He continued speaking but I couldn't pay attention. Not because I was in my world, but because I had this uneasy feeling, like I could sense a danger coming closer. I tried to shake off the thought from my mind.

'There's no way there could be anything wrong,' I thought.

Our school was out in the middle of nowhere. You had to drive a long an almost abandoned highway, then a long, dirt road, private drive leading to only our school. Not many people know where it is and you can't get there unless you have an intention to go. It's where my parents left me when I was really young... I think.

"Thank you for letting me share this advice with you," the principal said, "I hope it was helpful."

I looked up, confused. Had I really just missed all of that? As everyone was about to leave, I felt a sharp pain in my side and dropped to my hands and knees. Teachers came rushing over to me, but everything was blurred together and felt like a dream, but I assure you, it wasn't. Students gathered around, then there was a large crash from the auditorium down the hall. People screamed and I started to stand, but the principal wouldn't let me. He sent the other adults to go see what had happened and told the students to stay put, but no one did. The principal refused to leave my side. We heard more screams from the auditorium, then, silents.

He looked at me with a grim expression, then looked at the open door.

"I shouldn't be telling you this," He said calmly, "but I fear the worst. I'm going to go take a look around and be right back, okay? I'll close the door behind me, but you stay put."

I nodded. He led me over to the wall so I could sit up. The pain was getting worse, and I didn't know why. It felt like a warning. I watched him leave. Not only did he close the door, but he turned out the lights. I waited in the darkened silence for what felt like an eternity. The quiet was broken by the loudspeaker turning on which almost made me jump out of my skin. Then, a voice spoke.

"We are missing some students in this auditorium."

The voice said. I recognized it, but at the same time, I didn't.

"We know some of you are hiding. Where are you? Come out willingly or, when you're found, you will be forced in a way that wi-,"

His sentence was cut short as the principal's voice came on.

"Children, run, hide, get out! Please, you have to-,"

This sentence was cut short, but by a gunshot. I clapped my hand over my mouth so I wouldn't scream, then, silence. I struggled to my feet and made my way across the room. Peering out of the door, I could make out two shadows of tall men. They stood still, then went separate ways. I took a deep breath, and went out into the hallway. It was quiet, until I heard the clattering of boots. The pain grew and I went dizzy. I got myself together just as the men in boots rounded the corner. I froze, staring into the faces of ten pirates not six feet away from me. I couldn't breathe, the pain in my side was gone. It had done its job and now it was up to me to figure out what to do. My mind raced. I backed up slowly. The pirate in the front smirked and moved forward. I turned around to run, but found myself face to face with a large man. He towered over me, and smiled. He must've been six, maybe seven feet tall. I turned back around to find that the pirates had moved to make a semi-circle around me and the large man. I felt something cold slide across my neck and up my cheek. I saw it out of the corner of my eye. It was a hook.

"We found the last one, men," He said to the pirate crew.

He grabbed my arm with his hand and turned me around to face him. I got my first good look. He was dressed to nicely to be a crew member. He must be the captain. He had long, curly, greasy, black hair. His most notable facial feature was a long, black mustache sprouting from his upper lip. I looked at him up and down which led me to discover his left hand only to find it wasn't there. Only the hook I had seen a few seconds before. I tried to speak, and the captain cackled. He looked down at me grinning and stroked the back of his hook down the side of my face. I flinched, and he laughed again. Then he looked over my head to his crew.

"Put him with the others."

With that, he threw me into the arms of two men who both held me tightly as we walked towards the auditorium.

* * *

We entered and all eyes turned to me. Over the crowd of people, I could see my friend (the only person who has been a good friend as long as I can remember) Layla sigh in relief, but I soon was focusing on the pirate ship that had crashed through the roof. It must have been 30, maybe 40 feet long with masts that pointed up the sky. The pirates threw me on the ground. I scrambled to my feet and backed away. Once I was deep enough into the crowd, I turned and ran to Layla and we embraced each other.

"Peter, I thought you were dead," she said, shakily.

I pulled her closer.

"I'm so glad to see you,"

Our reunion was cut short by the auditorium doors swinging open with a sound that made us all jump. The captain strode in. Everyone watched as he made his way to the ship. He walked onto the ship then turned around and rested his hand, and his hook, on the rail.

"Before we get started," he said, "is everyone having a pleasant afternoon?"

He laughed at his own joke. Subtly, He signaled to his crew who started to position themselves around the cluster of people staring up at the captain. I was the only one who seemed to notice this because I could see their feet moving on the outside of our school huddle. I had decided to duck down when the captain entered, much to Layla's confusion, and mine. Even though I already met him, I didn't want the captain to see me. Don't ask why, because I don't know either.

The captain spoke again.

"I'm looking for someone of great importance to me and my crew. Anyone fourteen years and older, including teachers, raise their hands."

Nobody did.

"Oh, come on now," The captain pressured, "We promise not to hurt you. If you don't heed to me and my crew, we will kill you all." he said, smiling.

'What type of sicko is this,' I thought

Reluctantly, all the high schoolers and teachers raised their hands. The captain snapped his fingers and everyone who raised their hand were ushered into the room next to the auditorium and all exits from that room were quickly locked by the crew. That meant everyone older were away from the pirates and I had never wished more to be older.

"Now," the captain said, walking down from the ship. "I'm going to send you into one of the classrooms. You will come out with a representative that will come aboard the ship and discuss terms."

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Terms of what? Some of the younger kids were crying. I had forced myself to be brave. The crew started leading us back down the hallway where I had my first encounter with the captain. We all filed into the room and stood in a circle. The door closed and chaos broke out.

"Who wants to be our representative?" One person asked

"You're just taking control so you don't have to be the representative!" Another responded

People were shouting, others were crying, and one or two were in the corners trying not to be chosen. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Enough!" I screamed, "Everyone, please, just, shut up!"

Everyone was watching me for one too many times today.

"If you want to get yourself killed, keep arguing, I won't stop you. But, if you want to _survive,_ listen to me and do everything I say. No questions asked,"

I took a deep breath. Layla looked at me, worried, but intrigued. Something else was on her mind, but I couldn't figure out what.

"Okay, we aren't going to choose a representative. We don't know what they're planning to do with them, so we aren't going to send anyone in. The pirates are watching us right now. I don't know how, but I can feel it. So we have to play this off. Do everything I say."

I looked around the room at everyone. I had their attention.

"Layla, raise your hand," I said

She did without hesitation. I looked at her and smiled.

"Everyone, look at her,"

All heads turned. I walked over and grabbed her hands.

"Layla," I said, "nod your head,"

She nodded. I looked around at everyone again. I turned around trying to talk to everyone while keeping their attention.

"Now, Layla is not our representative. Like I said, no one is. Everyone promise to not step forward as the representative. If you do, there is a high chance of you getting killed."

I looked at one person, they promised. We went around the circle and everyone in the circle promised.

"I think we're ready," I said to the person closest to the door as a signal for him to open it.

"Peter," he said, "what will they do when we don't have a representative?"

Everyone turned to look at me in agreement to the question.

"They'll... send us back to make a decision. The wouldn't ask for one if they didn't need it. I'm buying us time,"

Everyone nodded. I wasn't sure about this. My hope was that they would send us back, but I had no way of knowing. That's why I had a back up plan, and I knew I had to make a decision between the two plans in a seconds notice when the time came.

* * *

Layla always knew when I had something on my mind, so when we were walking back down the hall towards the pirate ship, she whispered in my ear.

"So," she said, "what's your real plan?"

I looked at her trying to act like I didn't know what she was talking about, and not wanting to tell her, but she pushed for an answer.

"You know how everyone in the circle promised," I said, as quietly as possible.

"Ya,"

"I wasn't in the circle,"

She glared at me.

"Peter," she said, her voice was low, deep, and stern. "What are you going to do,"

I looked away, not wanting to face her. I could sense her slight panic, but also some relief. I was confused. I kept walking with my head down until the captain spoke when we arrived at the base of the ship.

"I hope you made the right choice," he said, circling around our once again huddled group.

I didn't look at him, but I could feel the captain's eyes pinned on me.

"Now," he said, still not taking his eyes off me, "will your representative please step forward."

Everyone tried to hide the fact that we had out witted him, smirked and looked at each other, but the amusement faded as I stepped forward, holding my head high, trying to be as brave as I could be. Their smiles turned to confusion, disappointment, and betrayal.

"Ah," the captain said, beckoning me towards him with a wave of his hand.

I heard the pirates behind me chuckle, but I didn't dare take my eyes off the captain. I walked up toward him slowly, every breath I took was shorted and shallower than the last. He knelt down to my level from his towering height.

"I knew it would be you," he whispered to me, "The one lost in his thoughts." I must've giving him a look because he threw his head back in laughter. "I know who you are, boy, even if you don't."

My mind raced with these words. He stood up. While he did, he grabbed my arm and pulled me forcibly to his side and addressed my classmates.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Then he looked down at me with just his eyes, "your representative,"

I looked up at him. I could hardly breath now. I was terrified. He aggressively lead me onto the ship. As we crossed the deck, he asked me a question I will never forget.

"Are you ready?"

* * *

The captain led me down to his cabin gripping my arm so tightly it felt like is was loosing circulation. The room had a desk in the corner. Next to the desk was a barrel that had a collection of weapons. I thought about using a sword to escape, but I quickly dismissed the idea. Surly I could never beat a pirate in a sword fight. I would have to find another way out of this. I took a deep breath, and answered the captain's question in my head. I'm ready.

"Peter, is that it," the captain asked as he dropped his grip on my arm and locked the cabin door, though it wasn't really a question. He knew the answer. "We haven't had a time to formally meet ...again"

He slowly walked over to the desk and lovingly drew one of the swords from the barrel and looked out of the tinted window at my friends huddled with each other.

"What do you mean, again," I asked, taking my eyes off the huddle.

He glared back at me over his shoulder and smiled. I got an uneasy feeling. It wasn't like the pain I had felt before, it wasn't a pain at all. It was fear, unlike any fear I had ever felt in my life. Except… but it's not possible. The only time I had felt fear like this was in the world inside my mind. It was so vivid. I had to catch my balance. Everything about this man standing a few feet away from me, everything about the ship I was in, it all was so familiar.

"Peter," the captain said, "Every child has or had some magical place inside their head not too different from yours, and, like you, many would give anything for this place to be real."

I looked at him. My mind was racing with all the vivid ideas of my world. But they didn't feel like ideas, they had never felt like _ideas_. They felt like _memories_. The captain continued to speak.

"But your world is special, Peter. Because unlike any child's imaginary world, yours is real."

I stared at him. I didn't know what was happening.

"Is this some type of joke," I said, my voice was filled with anger and fear. "How can you possibly expect me to believe this. I'm not just some character in a mystical land, I'm a real person."

I glared at him. He was walking toward the door but I wasn't finished yet. I rushed after him.

"Who are you, anyway? What are you doing here? How did you get a _ship_ , a _pirate ship_ , into our school? Do you expect me to believe you flew through the sky?!"

The captain stopped at the door, with his hand on the handle. He stabbed the sword he was holding into the wood floor. All of the confidence I had a second ago drained out of me.

"She did something to you, didn't" He said, "You don't remember a thing."

He slowly turned around and we stared at each other for moments that felt too long.

"But, like me, you can never truly forget."

With that, he took a stride towards me, causing me to fall backwards.

"Hello, I'm James Hook, captain of the Jolly Roger." He said as he held up his iron hand.

I stumbled to my feet and took another step backward, but all he did was take a step forward, his hook ready to strike. I took more steps back, and eventually, hit a wall. Captain Hook slammed his hand on the wall next to my head and touched the razor-blade tip of his hook to my chest. Something about that action triggered a flood of memories. My world. Neverland. A name long forgotten. I remembered Hook and the Pirates, that's it. But most importantly, why Hook didn't have a left hand. It was my fault. I had cut it off. I looked into his eyes, breathing slowly and deeply.

"You remember now, don't you boy," He said.

He pressed his hook harder into my chest. I cried out in pain, but he still pressed harder.

"It all makes sense now, doesn't it. Smee!" He called

A small, wide man entered.

"Fetch me my daughter,"

"Ay, Capt'n" Smee said.

The pirate didn't give a second thought to what was happening. He was in and out, like he wasn't there at all. Hook released the pressure on my chest. The second he did, he grabbed my hair and yanked it, hard, so I was facing almost completely upwards. He moved his hook and put it to my neck.

"Move," He said into my ear.

He kicked my heels so that I would move forward. As we were leaving the cabin, I saw Layla being escorted by Smee.

"Layla," I shouted, "you have to run, this man's evil!"

She just looked at me, ashamed, and didn't say a word. I turned my attention to Captain Hook. He was smiling. We were still moving down the corridor, which was getting dimmer.

"What do you want with her," I struggled as much as I could, "Let her go!"

We arrived at a doorway. I was still running plans through my mind on how I was to get away from him without cutting myself on the hook. The guard stood at the door and Hook handed him a rope. At that moment, I stopped planning as Hook held tightly so I wouldn't struggle while the guard tied my hands behind my back. I turned to face Hook, struggling with the ropes as the guard grabbed my shoulders.

"What do you want with Layla," I asked

"I simply want to talk. She is my daughter after all,"

I felt cold. The nicest person I've ever met was related to this man? Captain Hook just turned and walked in the direction he came. I tried to speak but the guard cut me off by shoving me through the doorway. On the other side, there was a row of jail cells, all of them were empty except for one which contained a man cowering in the corner. As we walked by he shot out and reached his greasy hand through the rusty cage and grabbed my arm, he was saying anything, just staring into my eyes. The guard released one of my arms and drew a baton. He then proceeded to beat the man's arm. He recoiled and went back into the corner. The guard unlocked the door of the cage next to the man's. I walked in almost willingly. I admitted to myself there was nothing I could do. He locked the door again, and walked away. I slumped down against the wall slid to the floor. The man in the corner continued staring at me for a good ten minutes before talking.

"What're you in for," he said, almost in a whisper.

"I don't know,"

"I'm in for mutiny,"

I nodded my head to show empathy. He started to sob. I didn't know what to do, so I made conversation.

"How long have you been here," I asked, then regretted it.

You shouldn't ask a sobbing man how long he's been in jail. He sniffled.

"Could be five years, could be ten. Time flies. But a little piece of advice, spoons don't work the same on wood as they do on concrete,"

In the dim candle light, I peered at the wall. There were scratch marks on the wood. The man climbed over and pressed his face on the bars separating the two cells. He stared at me for a long second, a second that made me extremely uncomfortable. He scanned me with his eyes, then pointed behind me. I looked and saw my hands, bound together with rope the guard didn't take off when I went into the cell. The man started laughing hysterically.

"Look at that!" he said, "They wouldn't bother freeing your hands if they was coming back for ya soon! You're going to be _free,_ boy,"

I looked at him confused. Ya, right. _Free_. If their coming back to get me, that's not a good sign. The man ran around the cage for, well, too long before he hit his head on the bars and passed out on the floor.

* * *

I had sat for an hour or more in a cell until the captain came and got me. I felt helpless as he pulled me too my feet, when I wasn't talking to the man I thought about many things. Like what Hook said about Layla being his daughter. But one thing crossed my mind more than others.

"Where are all my friends," I asked him.

"They're about to be put to good use,"

All that the response told me was that they were alive, and that gave me a feeling of relief. Hook brought me out on deck. It was getting dark already. I saw all my classmates sitting against the wall.

"Where are the rest," I said

"Oh, the ones we sent into the room over there," he said, "My crew is using them for, how do you say, target practice. They should be about done now,"

He laughed the laugh that haunted my dreams every night. My heart beat quickend. Crew members came through the door with guns in hand, laughing. I felt sick. Hook wrapped his arm around me, not in a friendly way, and walked me out onto the plank. His crew knew what to do. Four of them each took a student, pushed them to the ground, and held a gun to their head. I closed my eyes and buried my face into Hook's elbow.

"Come on out!" Hook shouted, "Save them!"

Who is he talking to? I didn't dare open my eyes as I felt Hook's free arm move. There were loud gunshots and the screams and cries from the other classmates. My chest was pounding. I forced myself to hold tears back. I slowly opened my eyes. The crew members had grabbed four new students and were repeating the same process. I was about to close my eyes again when I saw a bright light out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head, which was a mistake. As soon as I turned my head, Hook looked in the same direction. As he did, the light moved behind a wall.

"Come on," He shouted again, he turned toward the corner where I saw the light, loosening his grip on me, "You know what we're capable of,"

My attention was focused on the light as Hook signaled to his men. There was another chorus of gunshots and more screams.

"Capt'n," said one of the men, "It's a bit pointless, isn't it. They're not going to show themselves for bunch of random brats. They need more motivation."

Captain Hook looked at the man and released his grip on me entirely, convinced I wasn't going to go anywhere. There was nowhere to go. It was a long way to the ground from the plank and Hook was blocking the only way off. Even if I did jump, and survive, the pirates would catch me before I could get off the ground. The captain and his crew engaged in eye contact for sometime. Other men agreeing with the one who had spoken. During this moment, there was a voice in my head.

" _Peter,_ " It said, " _Fly,_ "

I was confused. I had imagined voices before, but this one was extremely close and vivid.

" _You must believe,_ "

This was the cheesiest thing I had ever heard. I didn't know what to think. Nothing made sense. There was a voice in my head and pirates from my imagination surrounded me on a ship that had crashed through the roof with no body of water nearby. I looked back up at where I had seen the light. It was back, and it felt like it was watching me.

" _I must hide, Peter,_ " It said, " _Before they see me,_ "

The light started to move behind the wall again. I tried to communicate with my thoughts.

"Will you come back," I asked.

" _If I need to,_ "

I watched it leave. As it did, the captain spoke.

"You're right, men. We need better bait,"

He turned back over to me and rested his hand on my shoulder. I leaned my head backward to look up at him. His face was twisted into a grim smile. The voice came back. It was very urgent.

" _Fly, Peter. Fly!_ "

Hook pushed my to my knees, drew a revolver, and pressed its muzzle into my neck.

"You see this," He said.

'He's talking to the light,' I thought.

"This is your only warning,"

He cocked the gun and pressed harder.

" _No!_ " Someone screamed.

All eyes turned to the corner where a ball of light came darting out of the corner where it had been hiding. It stopped at Hooks level a few feet away. I moved my head slightly to see what was happening. The light wasn't really a light, it was a girl. A tiny girl with… wings! I gasped. It was a fairy.

" _Untie him, and I'll go with you willingly. Isn't that what you want?_ " She said.

Hook pressed the gun harder.

"What did she say," He said.

"What?" I didn't understand. She was speaking clearly.

"Tell me what she said!"

I decided to cooperate.

"She said to let me go and she'll let you take her,"

Hook smiled. He took the gun off my neck and slashed his hook downward. I felt the tension release on my wrists. The ropes fell to the ground. I stood up. Hook was still blocking the exit. I had a bad feeling.

"Now," He said to the fairy, "Go down to my crew. They won't harm you."

She descended. When she got down to the level of the crew, one of them grabbed her brought her up on deck where an empty lantern was waiting. Once she was inside it, she turned to Hook.

" _Now let him go,_ "

I looked up at Hook.

"No translation needed," he said, then turned his attention to the fairy, "But, you see, I simply cannot let the boy go."

She started banging on the glass.

" _Fly! You have to!_ "

She was screaming. I made the hasty, terrible decision to run past Hook. He turned around, pushed me backward and started walking towards me. I was able to catch my balance.

"Come now, be a good lad,"

He extended his hook with intention for me to take it and admit defeat. I couldn't move. I was terrified. Hook pointed the gun at my arm, and fired. I moved quickly. It barely missed my shoulder. This gave me motivation to move. I started backing up. Hook fired at my leg. It was a hit. I screamed and fell down. I caught my breath for a quick moment but I didn't stop moving back. I _couldn't_ stop moving back. I pushed myself along the wood with my hands and the leg that wasn't throbbing in pain until my hand slipped and I found myself at the end on the plank. One of two things could happen. I could give up and let him take me, or I could jump off the wood panel and fall to the floor. I judged the distance. It was a good twenty feet or so. Either way my fate was not certain. I made my decision. Everyone watched in horror as I used whatever strength I had to roll sideways. Off the ship. Hook wouldn't have it. Without hesitation he wrapped his hook around my hand, scratching up the side of my arm, and started to pull me back towards him. I heard the fairy scream my name but, as his anger-ridden face came closer, I made another choice. I bit his arm. He screamed and pulled up angling his hook so that my hand slipped out and I fell.

* * *

Everything moved slowly, but my mind was racing. I had gotten this far, I had to figure out what to do next. Believing I could fly seemed to be my only option now. I closed my eyes, concentrating. I suddenly stopped falling. The first thought that had crossed my mind was that I hadn't survived the fall because all my feelings were surreal. I slowly opened my eyes. I was facing upward. I could see Hook, standing on the plank, his face red with fury. I looked to the side to see that I was at eye level with the pirates.

'That's weird," I thought.

I tried to stand, but couldn't. In fact, I didn't feel the ground underneath me. I strained myself to stand and bolted upright. I looked down. My feet weren't touching the ground. I was flying. I felt a joyful panic spread through me. I was five feet off the ground. I fell backward laughing, but quickly stabled myself in an upright position. I had gotten so lost in this wondrous adventure, I hadn't noticed the pirates coming up behind me. During my flying experiments, I had gotten myself to turn around just as they were about to strike. As the did, I angled my body so my chest was pointed up and shot towards the ceiling. The pirates toppled over each other. I looked down at the deck of the ship. Hook was in a fit of rage.

"What's the matter, Captain," I asked, gleefully.

"Come down, boy," He yelled, "Face me like a man,"

We looked into each other's eyes for a long moment.

"Never,"

"I challenge you," He said, "Choose a weapon,"

Smee carried out the barrel of weapons from Hook's cabin. I slowly descended, trying to keep my balance. I hadn't quite gotten the complete hang of flying. There was a moment coming down where I moved pretty fast because I had lost control and fell about eight feet. Lucky for me, I was still high up otherwise I would have fallen into the arms of Hook. When I stumbled onto the deck, I almost completely lost my balance. After all the excitement, I had forgotten about my leg. I kept my eye on the pirates as I limped over rummaged through the barrel. My arm was cut and bleeding so much already I didn't notice if new ones formed. The only thing going through my head was the fact that I could never beat Hook in a sword fight. But I must've, when I cut off his hand. Hook knew something was wrong.

"We _can_ fight," He said to me. "Or, you can walk over here and accept defeat like a gentleman."

I just glared at him. I pulled out a sword from the barrel and shakily held it pointed in front of me. The blood made the grip slippery. Hook sneered and raised his sword as well. I took a deep breath then got into a ready position. Hook charged. I raised my sword above my head and blocked his blow. There was a loud clash of metal. Like before, everything moved slowly. Every time Hook swung, I could block it. And the same went for me. The fight could go either way. It didn't seem fair though. He was so much taller than me, plus, he also had a hook. I made a decision in a split second moment as Hook plunged his sword towards me. I flew up. The blade just barely hitting my foot. He looked shocked.

"Come down, boy," Hook was trying to hide the frustration and anger in his voice, and it wasn't working.

"Why should I?"

His twisted face looked up and me and I felt chills. I saw Layla run out from below deck and look up. It was hard to see her face.

"Peter," she cried.

I glared at her.

"You lied to me," I shouted back

"I never lied to you, Peter," she looked down at her feet. "I just never told you the truth."

At this point, I didn't know how to feel. Layla lifted her eyes to look back up at me. I had to look away. That's when I heard her scream. One of Hook's crew had grabbed her from behind and was holding her by her hair.

"Isn't this touching," Hook said, slowly waltzing over to Layla.

"Let her go!" I yelled, readying my sword.

"Why should I?" he said, mockingly, stroking Layla cheek with his hook.

During this whole time, I had forgotten about all my friends, watching me, counting on me. If I didn't get them out of this mess, I would never forgive myself. The pirates were after me, anyway, not them.

"You see," Hook continued, staring into my eyes, "Layla was ordered to keep an eye on you, make sure you were in this place at this time," he made his voice a mocking tone, "Falling in love was never part of the plan,"

I felt dizzy. Layla was never my friend. I felt betrayed and heartbroken. I closed my eyes and a tear fell down my cheek, then ten feet, and hit the deck of the ship. As this happened, I heard the fairy, who had repeatedly banged on the lantern trying to get up, stop altogether. Everything seemed to freeze as I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at Layla. She was closer than I remembered. I looked down and realized I was sinking towards then ship. I looked at Hook, who was smiling like I had never seen. I was about five feet from the decks surface. I just let myself sink farther, feeling like a little kid, wanting to go home, wherever home was. Another tear fell, then another. I couldn't remember the last time I had cried. Must've been years ago. My toes brushed the deck, and the rest of my foot came down with it. I stared at the deck, letting my sword drop to the ground. Hook came over, pulled me in, and hugged me. It wasn't a nice hug. It was menacing, and uncomfortable. Tears fell rapidly, though I tried my best to hold them back.

"You made the right choice," he whispered in my ear.

I looked over my shoulder at the fairy in the lantern. The one that had saved my life, or had tried to.

" _My name is Tinkerbell."_ she said, " _Get help, Peter. All you have to do is whisper, and they'll hear you."_

I tried to say something back but my mind was still busy racing, and I was still crying. Why did she just now tell me her name? Get help? I suddenly had and idea. All I had to do was whisper.

"Tinkerbell's in danger," I said.

Hook looked down at me. I pulled my head away from him and saw a bright light, even brighter than Tinkerbell, come from the same corner of the auditorium. It swarmed around the pirate ship, with its crew swatting and running for cover. It was a group of fairies, hundreds of them. Hook released his squeeze and him, too, swatted the fairies away. Part of the group broke off and knocked Tinkerbell's lantern over. She darted out to me. I wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled.

" _I heard you call me Tinkerbell,"_ she said.

" _You told me that was your name,"_ I said, confused.

" _Okay, first of all, you can just speak to me, you don't have to use your_ _mind_. _I can understand humans, or half-humans in your case-"_

"Half-human?"

" _Let me finish, asshole. I'll explain later. Secondly, you can call me Tink. It's what you always called me,"_

"I only just met you"

She winked at me.

" _Look, I'll explain everything on the way back to Neverland,"_

I was about to speak again.

" _Ah, Ah. Shush! But first, we have to get you away from these pirates,"_

She flew towards the gaping hole the ship and made when it crashed through which felt like an eternity ago.

" _Aren't you coming,"_

Looked back at Layla, who was in awe of the fairies flying around in the air. I smiled wider, lifted myself off the ships deck and followed Tink up into the night sky.

" _Second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning,"_

* * *

"The next thing I remember is waking up here, with you,"

As I finished my story, the Apache Chief stroked his chin, thoughtfully.

"So you don't remember being here before," he asked

"Barley,"

He got off the ground where we were sitting and went out of the tent to address his tribe, I followed.

He shouted something in a native language and the crowd cheered, then I saw Tink fly across the heads of the people towards me.

"What did he say," I asked.

She looked at me, then looked around at the village. She looked to the edge of the cliff that the village was rested on, and out at the ocean of Neverland. She smiled wide, and responded.

" _The savior has returned,"_


End file.
